Panasonic FZ30 replacement.

I got my FZ30 in 2007.

After a few years, I got annoyed by:

• the blueish color cast in the JPGs
  
• the limited background blur (I started with taking portraits in 2009, and in dec 2008, the older of my two sons was born)
• the time needed until the autofocus got its work done
• the 2-3 sec delay until the raw file was written to the memory card
• the noise at ISOs > 100

So I was looking for a camera with a fast autofocus when using a viewfinder as well as using a tilt&swivel screen. I also liked the idea of paying little money for lenses that offer a shallow DOF.

I had an eye on the Panasonic G series since the G1 came out.
But APS-C would be better for shallow DOF and high ISOs. Throw in in-body-IS, fast af with liveview and a huge base of affordable f/4 and f/3.5-4.5 lenses, and you end up with Sony.

I got a Sony A33, a Sony 18-250 f/3.5-6.3 and a Sony 50 f/1.8. What an awesome update! Even with the slow zoom lens, the shutter times in low light are way shorter, if I aim for the same IQ I get with the FZ30.

Switching from FZ30 to A33, it didn't take long time to feel at home. But switching back to the FZ30 months later felt like moving from home into a tent...

Marcel

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My gallery: http://www.turbogenial.de